


A Raven's Conspiracy

by Wayfarer_Rye



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Becoming a family, Family, Found Family, Friends as Family, Gen, Love, Raven feathers, Symbolism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-22
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2020-10-25 17:50:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,237
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20728313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wayfarer_Rye/pseuds/Wayfarer_Rye
Summary: Raven feathers followed Caleb, but he never seemed to notice them around, and it always seemed as if they were gifts to them.





	1. The Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> If you read up on Raven lore, you will realize that either Liam O'Brien really likes ravens, (which is valid, they one of my favourite birds too) or a really amazing set of coincidences. 
> 
> Sorry to anyone wanting for my other stories, I am working on those, just sometimes the muse wanders.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Bird Poem  
One for Sorrow,  
Two for Mirth,  
Three for a wedding,  
Four for a birth,  
Five for silver,  
Six for gold,  
Seven for a secret never to be told,  
Eight for a kiss,  
Nine for a wish,  
and Ten for the one you shouldn't miss.

* * *

Nott was the first to receive them. She had tried asking early in their friendship, but Caleb was resistant to answer. Silently she dropped it and instead began collecting the ones she found. A few even made it into her button necklace. 

* * *

When the others began noticing, Nott protective of her boy remembered his resistance in answering her. So she stepped between them. 

“Don’t ask,” Nott warned sternly to Beau, who gripped five black feathers in one of her hand, the other about to knock on Caleb’s door. 

It hadn’t been long since Beau had asked a question that she wasn’t prepared for the answer. So, with a nod, Beau lowered her hand and turned away from Nott, stalking away. 

Later, Nott saw she braided one to hang from her belt.

Beau collected her own feathers from then on, her and Nott fought over them sometimes.

* * *

“It only around us, The Mighty Nein, do the feathers show up,” Nott offered a confused Yasha, who held one feather in the early morning. 

Caleb had left to check his hunting traps, and a black feather landed at Yasha’s feet not a moment later. They, Nott and Yasha, were to set up a fire for they caught as the other four slept peacefully.

“Ah,” Yasha nodded thoughtfully turning the large feather in her hand. Nott wondered if maybe Yasha knew why, she had wings, but Yasha didn’t say a word. 

After a moment of comfortable silence, Yasha took the feather and put it in her book.

* * *

“Nott,” Fjord asked her quietly while the two shared watch, “why does Caleb leave feathers,” he pulled out four beautiful feathers from a pocket hidden in his armour. Close to his heart.

Another time Nott may have teases Fjord about the obvious implications there, but the feathers were important, and she was glad that Fjord realized that too. 

“I don’t know, but I don’t think Caleb knows either,” Nott explained. 

Fjord seemed to think over the answer, before nodding. 

He pulled out a few strings of leather and spent the rest of the watch attaching two of the feathers to the hilt of Star Razor, putting the other two in the original pocket. 

She left him to it, unbothered by his distraction. 

* * *

Jester found two and showed them into everyone’s face, but she never asked. Nott almost thought she didn’t know, but sometimes Jester would look at Caleb speculatively while playing with the necklace she made of them. 

* * *

Caduceus was another that never questioned the feathers, instead, he slowly began to braid them into his paling hair. He did eventually stop at six. It confused outsiders; Then asking if he was a cleric of the Raven Queen, others thought it was an odd choice. Nott and the others though thought the black feathers looked good.

* * *

“Do you think Molly ever found some?” Beau asked as Jester braided her hair. It was only the three of them, the boys we either reading (Caleb) or turned in early (Fjord and Cad). 

“He had seven in his pocket when I checked” Nott offered to sip her flask. 

“The bastard probably would have a reason,” Beau grumbled, but Nott heard the sorrow and grief in the undercurrent. 

“Whether it was the truth, is another thing,” Jester giggled. 

“True, he was good at making bullshit sound reasonable,” Beau laughed, and the topic changed. 

* * *

It wasn’t like Caleb’s feathers were alone, Nott gave them all buttons, that she thought suited them. Jester had given them all color code ribbons. Fjord had a knack for finding suitable and pretty rocks or shells for each of them. Caduceus gave each of them a uniquely made beads, Nott’s was the same colour as Yeza’s eyes. 

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (If you are interested Nott first found nine.)


	2. Wings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Feathers have to come from somewhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. 
> 
> Let me know any spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

He knew they didn’t know everything about Caleb, even if Fjord was sure they knew more than Caleb ever thought he would share. 

They didn’t know where the black feathers’ came from, even if each of them wore them with pride. 

Shoved off the high cliff as the final move from a bandit, Fjord knowing a jagged rock waited at the bottom, closed his eyes expecting death or at least pain. Out of spells, any spells to save himself. The others were just as worn thin, for all the bandits were not strong, they had been a large group. It had been a long fight where everyone had used everything. There would be no spell to save him, all he could hope for was landing in the water and using his superior swimming skills to avoid being slammed into rocks. Realistically, he knew that the likelihood of missing a rock was slim, too many rocks clumped together at the button.

He could hear Jester and Nott screaming, “Fjord.” He hoped his death wouldn’t be gruesome at least for their sakes. 

Then he heard Beau scream louder mere moments after “Caleb, no!”

Snapping his eyes open, he saw as Caleb crested over the edge of the cliff in a dive, his customary cloak missing, and his books and satchels were gone leaving only his shirt on. Fjord could see the determined look on Caleb’s face as he bulleted towards him, slicked back in the wind. 

Caleb collided with Fjord, it knocked the air out of him, but he had enough to ask, “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Hold on,” Caleb ordered back ignoring the question, confused Fjord clutched Caleb wondering just what the other man was planning. 

The sound of tearing fabric echoed around them. Fjord nearly let go as a set of large black wings sprouted out with a rush of air with a few feathers coming loose around them. Stopping their decent mere meters from the rock that would have impaled him. 

Fjord stared as he clutched Caleb, carefully trying to hold on as Caleb’s wings began to beat and carry them upwards toward the top of the cliff. 

Caleb dropped Fjord on his feet as they reached the edge of the cliff, Caleb took a couple of steps forward only to collapse face-first into the dirt, his wings folded to his back. He was breathing heavily likely from the effort. 

Fjord couldn’t help but stare, the back to Caleb’s shirt was in tatters, and blood was oozing from where the wings had sprouted out the flesh of his back. Bruising from the few hits Caleb received during the fight was already painting swatches of purple on his skin. It was like something out of a macabre religious picture when adding the wings. 

Nott ran over, pulling out a rag and began to wipe away the blood, ready to just accept that Caleb had wings, or maybe she knew already.

He was pretty sure he was in shock, as Caduceus appeared beside him and gently helped him sit down. 

“Just breathe, Mr. Fjord,” Caduceus urged quietly, as he pressed a glowing hand to the side of Fjord’s face mending some wounds he received during the fight. 

Fjord nodded shakingly breathing as he felt some pain lessened by the healing. 

“Caleb, what the actual fuck?” Beau demanded. She was holding Caleb’s jacket and scarf in her hands looking angry. 

Blood was dripping down Beau’s face from a graze from an arrow, Yasha reached over to let her hand glow to close the head wound. Yasha was holding Caleb’s books in her free hand.

“I didn’t have any spells left and Fjord was falling,” Caleb mumbled tiredly into the dirt. 

“I got that but you have wings man,” Beau pointed out, gesturing even though Caleb wasn’t looking at her. 

“I do,” Caleb agreed but offered nothing more. 

Beau looked ready to scream in frustration, when Yasha touched her shoulder, and knelt beside Caleb, “Are you like me?” she asked quietly. 

Finally, Caleb lifted his head towards them, his eyes weren’t the usual deep blue, instead, they took a grey-ish shade. He looked worn and tired. 

“No,” Caleb denied firmly, but kindly, “I wasn’t born with them like you.” Yasha nodded in understanding. She began to cut away the tatters of Caleb’s shirt, using it to bandage some cuts on his arms that were still bleeding. 

“Then how did you get them? Humans at least don’t spontaneously sprout wings,” Jester asked, as she squatted down beside Yasha and poked on the wings. 

Beau grumbled, “no, we don’t.” She flopped down beside Fjord. 

“I don’t know, I had them since I left the asylum,” Caleb shrugged causing his wings to move nearly hitting those near them, “Sorry.”

“It’s okay,” Jester giggled and reached out pressed her now glowing hand to Caleb’s back. Caleb melted into the ground and his wings ruffled in the way happy birds do. Causing Jester to giggle again. 

“Sorry, I can’t get rid of all your injuries, but I am tapped,” Jester apologized to the group. 

“We can make camp nearby,” Beau stated looking up from where she was wiping the blood from a clotted cut on her arm, “and anything left over you and Caduceus can have a crack at in the morning.”

Jester beamed at Beau, causing her to flush, and grumble, pointedly going back to cleaning her cuts. 

Fjord shook out his shock, “Thank you, Caleb, for saving me.” 

Caleb glanced towards him, “Of Course,” as if it was that simple for Caleb to dive off a cliff, revealing one more secret in the process. 

“That was a dangerous thing to do Caleb, you certainly not the strongest of people, and Fjord is heavy, you could of both went down,” Nott scolded as she began to straighten out a few of the feathers. 

“I knew I could at least get Fjord away from the rocks,” Caleb pointed out. 

“What about you? If you landed in the water, I doubt you could swim with your wings,” Nott argued back. Caleb said nothing, just grimaced. It gripped Fjord’s heart with fear and affection. Caleb always put himself in harm’s way for them. 

“I am glad that it didn’t come to that,” Fjord cut in, hoping to move away from a sensitive topic, “We should look to setting up camp none of us are in any place to make it make to town..” 

“Yeah,” Beau agreed, rocking to her feet, “Jester, Yasha, do you want to help me find a good place to set up?”

“Of course!” Jester agreed, grinning. Yasha nodded silently. 

Jester and Yasha both rose to their feet, Jester a little bouncier than Yasha’s slow movements and join Beau as they moved to the tree to check for any unsullied clearings, preferably far away from a cliff. 

“Ms. Nott would be so kind as to help with our quarry, we haven’t looted them yet,” Caduceus asked standing to his full height as well.

Nott looked torn between staying by Caleb’s side to continue scolding him likely and finding interesting things in the bandits’ pockets. 

“Go,” Caleb must have seen her struggle as he waved her away, “I will still be here for you to scold later.”

“You better,” Nott threatened but nodded and joined Caduceus, Nott picking through pockets, and Caduceus following behind decomposing the bodies. 

Fjord and Caleb sat in silence for a moment watching before Fjord asked, “the black feathers are from your wings right?” 

Caleb tensed, his wings ruffling nervously, “Ja. ”

“Cool,” Fjord nodded, changing the subject, he asked another question that he was burning to know, “So you don’t have wings all the time, do they disappear?”

Caleb relaxed as he explained, “Ja. They only stay for an hour at a time, and it takes time for me to be able to manifest them again.” 

“That’s cool,” Fjord admitted with a wry smile,

“I certainly didn’t think so the first time I made them appear,” Caleb chuckled. 

“You don’t know why you got them?” Fjord blurted out. 

Caleb seemed to think it over, “All I have is theories.” Caleb offered. 

“Okay,” Fjord nodded, “and Caleb don’t think me ungrateful for you saving me, but please try to limit the risks to yourself.” He straightens a crooked feather’s Nott missed. 

Caleb hummed, “try to avoid falling off cliffs in the future.”

“I wish to never experience that again,” Fjord agreed. 

Caleb closed his eyes for a moment, and Fjord watched in awe as the wings began to dissolve until all that was left was ten black feathers on the ground. Caleb rolled to siting and seemed unconcerned by this half-dressed state beyond shivering. 

Fjord passed Caleb his jacket while trying not to stare too much at Caleb. 

“Danke,” Caleb said as he wrapped himself in the coat, as he scooped up his books to put under his arm. They both quietly began walking towards where the other disappeared to, leaning against each other. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We are getting to the actual plot of the story now. 
> 
> :) 
> 
> I just couldn't get the image of a focused Caleb diving off a cliff, and then the 20ft wings sprouting out as he caught Fjord. The red hair with the black wings beating behind him, giving almost halo/fire effect.


	3. Theories.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Theories.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cheers, Happy 2020 everyone,
> 
> Reminder to choose love and compassion, to love each other and to show compassion when you can.

Around the fire later the evening, once Caduceus and Yasha had prepared a hearty and balanced meal between the two of them.

Jester was the one to finally broach the subject; her curiosity was a wild thing as always.

“Caleb,” Jester drew out, as she looked towards Caleb, who seemed to have been spooked out of deep thought, “how did you find out you had wings?”

Caleb sighed, and his shoulders rolled in a way that suddenly made more sense to Jester when she imaged the way wings would move with the movement.

“It was how I escaped the asylum,” Caleb explained quietly, as he rubbed his arm, and when his hand curled to scratch as he was prone to do, Beau grabbed Caleb’s hands as she had taking to do in response. Neither even acknowledged it anymore. Jester wanted to coo at the adorableness that the two of them were, but neither Caleb nor Beau appreciated when it was pointed out.

“They were just there?” Beau prompted when Caleb looked to be drifting away. She let go of his hands and replaced it with string she pulled out her many pockets, and Caleb began playing with it creating designs out of it.

Caleb nodded, “I was nearly caught, feeling desperate, I suddenly I had wings that gave me the extra speed I needed to get away.” Caleb hunched over, his hands still playing with the string.

“You said had some theories on why,” Fjord said as he finished drying the dinner dishes Caduceus passed him. While all of them were interested in what Caleb was saying, they were aware that too many eyes on Caleb made him nervous and anxious.

“Ja, I thought at first it might have been my magic reacting to the desperation to be free.”

“Flying as a giant eagle is pretty freeing,” Jester agreed with a giggle, trying not to move too much as Yasha was braiding flowers into her hair, “and fun so having your own pair of wings it probably like a hundred time more awesome.”

Caleb offered her a small smile, and Jester’s smile grew at the win, “Ja, it can be pretty awesome.”

“You said at, first, what do you think now?” Nott asked curiously. She had some of her collection out in front of her for counting and sorting.

“It could very well have been my magic reacting, there is plenty of cases of magic reacting strangely when insanity or desperation is added into the mix but I cannot know for sure,” Caleb explained, his nervousness was slinking away as he entered lecturer mode, “If it wasn’t for the fact I can’t find any sort of runic marking on my skin, I would have hazard a runic experiment.” As if the implication weren’t horrible, Caleb said it like it was a reasonable option that he could have been used in an experiment without his consent or even awareness.

Jester felt her heart hurt, and she knew the others felt the same by the sorrowful looks she caught before they all smoothed their faces before Caleb’s guilt complex reared its head.

“Maybe you have Wereraven ancestry,” Nott offered to redirect the conversation.

“I don’t think that is how that works Nott,” Fjord said dryly.

Nott’s head snapped to Fjord and glared, “How do you know?”

Fjord didn’t reply beyond making a show of rolling his eyes for all to see. Jester stifled a giggle.

“Fjord is right Nott,” Caleb coughed and was poorly hiding his own smile when Nott’s head whipped around to him, looking betrayed, “A resurfacing of a dormant ancestry like that would be more complete than a pair of wings, I would be far better at accents then I am for one,” Caleb added matter-of-factly. Lips twitched as they remembered the awfulness of Caleb’s attempt.

Nott sighed, but didn’t say anything more, but did shoot Fjord a stink eye. In Jester’s opinion, they were almost as adorable siblings as Beau and Caleb, just rougher around the edges.

The conversation lulled.

Fjord and Caduceus put their dishes back in their packs. Caduceus pulled out his kettle for tea, while Fjord started darning some of the Nein’s more worn clothes. He, Caduceus and Caleb being the only ones with any talent with for it, Nott and Yasha could do it but the other three were better at it so it slowly became their chore if only to save some extra money on clothes. Jester and Beau were awful with it though, neither had the patience for it.

Nott added a few more buttons she had picked up to her necklace, then began to hide and pocket the others.

Yasha finished up the last flower braid in Jester’s hair, and Jester smiled in thanks, pulled out her notebook and began to draw.

Yasha moved away a bit to begin to inspect her weaponry to see if it needed any maintenance. 

Beau and Caleb slowly ended up leaning against each other, both exhausted, Caleb had pulled out a book settled it between the two of them. It was more a reflex than anything, as neither made a move to turn the page.

“Mr. Caleb,” Caduceus asked as he poured tea.

“Hmm,” Caleb answered shaking the fuzz from his brain, “Ja, Mr. Clay?”

They all accept the tea Caduceus handed them, even if only Caleb and Yasha every drank it.

“Have you ever dreamed of ravens, or perhaps a woman with a white full porcelain mask?”

“Not that am aware of.”

Caduceus nodded as if he expected as much but seeing the curious look on the other’s face explained, “The Matron of Ravens, I have spoken of her before. She is the goddess of death; she watches over the transition between life and death. Her champions tend to deal with fate, and those that brush too close death. My father mentioned that her champions sometimes have black wings.”

Unsure how to reply, Caleb just stared.

“Oooh, do you think the Traveler would give me a pair of wings if I asked?” Jester wondered. 

Gathering his wits Caleb shook his head, “I do not think Mr. Clay that my wings are linked to the Matron.”

Caduceus nodded but Caleb had the feeling that Caduceus had a different opinion.

“We should turn in for the night,” Fjord cut across anymore talk.

“I will take first watch,” Yasha volunteered, which was the end of the conversation as they all discussed who had which watch and turned in for the night.

Caleb thought he would have trouble sleeping but as soon as his head hit the pillow he was drifting, the last thing he remembers, is the feeling of a feather against his skin. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments? Opinions? Grammar? Spelling?
> 
> What is everyone's opinion? 
> 
> And yes I read all the comments and thank you for everyone that takes the time to do so. I enjoy the comments, and when I remember and have time I try to reply.

**Author's Note:**

> Note Added 03/03/20  
Thanks for reading   
I hope you enjoyed the story!  
Let me know what you think and what your favourite part was,   
If you want to more or just want to maybe suggest what I should write next, visit me at; https://ryeswritings.tumblr.com/


End file.
